Monday, September 8, 2008

Where Do You Go?

"Marquis Hart, 19, learned Feb. 1 that his All Kids coverage had ended. His mother, Linda Hart, a nursing assistant who is uninsured, has since been borrowing money from family and friends for her son's diabetes supplies: $90 a month for two types of insulin, $100 a month for a box of syringes for injections, and more for alcohol pads and strips for his glucose monitor. 'He's only taking his [blood] sugar [levels] when he feels funny because he [doesn't] have coverage anymore, and I don't have the money to pay for what he needs,' Hart said. Hart is enrolling as a freshman at Daley College this month, but the school won't pay for his diabetes supplies and medications. Hart, who plans to major in computers and business, is anxious about what's going to happen to his health. 'It's a struggle to get the money to pay for what I need. I'd like to try to work, but no one's hiring," he said. "If only they could help me out until I find a way to better myself.'"*Sigh* I was lucky at 19, my parents' health insurance still covered me. But I've been in the state program cited here and was close to being in Marquis' shoes as an adult. I went to bed with a knot in my stomach every night for a year, hoping I wouldn't lose my coverage. And all along I was made to feel having diabetes was somehow my fault or a character flaw, simply because I needed expensive medicines to stay alive. How do you fix a broken system? How can we get both sides to agree on the problem?!Sorry, rant over. Just reading about this upsets me...

2 comments:

yeah. it sucks. i've been there, sort of. juggled between insurances. there is the underground fact that while not recommended and possibly illegal, diabetes is very much about networking. sometimes people get more than they need, and they pass it on to those who don't get enough, or end up paying $120 for Lantus cause it's not covered, because someday, that person WILL have insurance, and will pay it forward.

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